Iraq military trains sights on Daesh stronghold

Government forces ready to mount major operation to reclaim city of Fallujah

BAGHDAD— The Iraqi military said Sunday that it is preparing to storm Daesh-held Fallujah, the city that was the scene of the bloodiest fighting for U.S. marines during the Iraq War.

The military statement gave no timeline for the operation but said counterterrorism forces, police, tribal fighters and popular mobilization units — which include an array of Shiite militias — will be involved. U.S.-supplied F-16s had already be- gun bombing targets in the city, the statement said.

Civilians were urged to stay away from the headquarters of Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Few expect an easy fight — the Daesh militants have dug in and built defences in the city since capturing it more than two years ago, the first in the country to fall to the extremist group. Fallujah has long been considered a hotbed of rebellion and extremism, with even the heavy-handed Saddam Hussein struggling to control its tribes. U.S. marines fought Sunni insurgents during two battles for the city in 2004, the second of which marked the heaviest urban combat for American troops since Vietnam, claiming the lives of nearly 100 service members.

It’s not an order of battle that correlates to U.S. military policy, which had focused on an offensive targeting Mosul, the Daesh-held city farther north.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said he expects the recapture of Mosul to be close to complete by the end of the year. But a drawn-out battle for Fallujah could delay the already stuttering buildup to that offensive.

There has, however, been a growing push within the Iraqi military to recapture Fallujah first. Some of the pressure comes from Shiite militia forces besieging the city, which lies 60 kilometres west of Baghdad. The heavy presence of those Shiite militia fighters, who view much of the Sunni population as sympathetic to the Daesh militants, has raised fears of sectarian reprisal killings during any operation, though military commanders said militias would stay at the city’s outskirts.

“Your sons, the heroic fighters in the armed forces, are preparing to achieve a new victory,” Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement on Sunday.

“Liberating the city of Fallujah will be a victory for all Iraqis and will pave the way for the return of stability and normalcy to the province of Anbar.”

In a speech on Friday, Abadi had mentioned a forthcoming offensive for Fallujah and the remaining militant-held areas of Anbar province — and “then Mosul.”

Arecent wave of bombings in Bagh- dad has added weight to the calls for those arguing that a Fallujah operation is more pressing than Mosul, with a militant hub so close to the capital putting civilians at risk. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces have already scored a string of victories against Daesh fighters in the province.

Sunni leaders from the province have also lobbied for an offensive, saying the continued siege of the city by military and militia forces is causing a humanitarian crisis inside as many as 60,000 residents remain trapped without access to food and medical supplies.

However, Jumaa al-Jumaili, a commander with local Sunni tribal forces, said Daesh was not allowing anyone to leave the city in order to use residents as human shields.